EZT wind farm proposal draws grassroots opposition 

A delegation is planned for East Zorra-Tavistock’s Feb. 21 council meeting in Hickson that will focus on the group’s main concerns.

“The impact on the neighbourhood was our number-one point. Let’s try to avoid pitting neighbour against neighbour. Let’s treat everyone with respect, even those who want to sign (contracts). I am not going to spend any time coming up with things against Prowind. They are a business trying to put a product in place,” Cunningham said.

A second concern is the potential removal of prime agricultural land, which both farmers say they want to preserve. Cunningham said Hommes partnered with him because of that very issue.

“I own land here, and Rick is a progressive young farmer looking to hand his farm down to his kids in the future. If there are enough people interested to make a go of it, then the next concern is setting these (turbines) far enough back so that we don’t impact people and livestock,” Cunningham said.

He added the province’s current setback regulations make little sense, noting many countries have increased the distance required between the towering turbines and animal or human life.

The grassroots meeting was initially by invitation only. Flyers were placed in the mailboxes of local landowners who live in the Cassel area.

“We decided to go a little beyond those borders with people who were very close and would have a sightline of wind turbines. Unfortunately, a couple of people did come in and we had to have a conversation at the door just to say, ‘It’s nothing personal, but this meeting is not about pros and cons.’ We want to hear what our community has to say,” Cunningham said.

One of those asked to leave, Cunningham added, owns land near Cassel and had already signed on to the project, while the other owns land in the proposed project area closer to Innerkip.

Last month, Prowind officials announced their intention to revisit a site near Innerkip as part of a possible wind farm project in the wake of an increase in energy demand predicted by Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator.

“Our vision is to build another community wind project in Oxford Centre, with two clusters of wind turbines in the Innerkip and Cassel areas,” said Helmut Schneider, Prowind’s vice-president of renewable energy development, in an earlier interview.

Prowind’s original site is located on the 16th Line between the Van Boekel Field of Dreams Baseball Camp and Braemar Sideroad while the proposed second location is in the area of the 14th and 17th lines in the Cassel and Maplewood Sideroad area.

Prowind, an international renewable energy company with an office in Woodstock, is working with the Oxford Community Energy co-operative, which was founded as part of the Gunn’s Hill wind farm project in Norwich, to get this latest project online.

Despite the growing opposition to the proposal from some local farmers, Ontario Federation of Agriculture officials were less averse.

“(The federation) understands that energy demands are increasing rapidly and our farm businesses are part of that growing demand. It will take a mix of all types of energy generation infrastructure to meet the growing demand for reliable, affordable and sustainable power. Finding the balance between responsible land-use planning in rural areas and protecting Ontario’s most viable food-producing lands is an important factor in the conversation,” Tracey Arts, the federation’s Oxford and Elgin zone director, said in a statement.

Cunningham admitted to some surprise at the federation’s response.

“We used to be so protective of prime farmland. We need to keep protecting it. A comment we heard from the people in the audience . . . was they just want to farm. They love it, they want to produce and we need to be very sensitive in this country,” Cunningham said.

The new group, Cunningham added, understands the push and the timeline for renewable energy in terms of a carbon-neutral footprint but don’t believe wind farms are the solution.

“You can’t just let everything go. It’s not the wild west. You need to have other options and think through what’s best,” he said.

Another top-of-mind point for the group is the contracts required for a wind project, which members say is heavily slanted toward Prowind in terms of where the turbines are located. The two projects are also slated to use taller turbines than their counterparts at the Gunn’s Hill project in Norwich. A substation would also require as much as 1.2 hectares of land.

Prowind vice-president Helmut Schneider said the current agreement with landowners does not specify the exact height of the turbines, explaining that several factors go into the decision.

“The turbine dimensions are determined as per project requirements and in compliance with local regulations and environmental considerations. Turbine dimensions have indeed evolved, and the two-megawatt turbines we used at Gunn’s Hill would not be considered efficient or effective in today’s standards,” he said.

He noted a 145- to 165-metre turbine height is very common today. As for the contract, Schneider said it emphasizes fairness, transparency and compliance with local laws, aiming to balance both the company’s operational needs and the landowners’ rights.

“I am glad to meet with individual landowners to discuss details in the option agreement, listen to concerns and learn from them, and to find answers to any questions now and throughout the development process,” Schneider said.

An unnamed source said enough people have signed up for the project near Innerkip to move forward, but the Cassel proposal still requires more interested landowners.

“For the Innerkip project, we are encouraged by the interest shown so far,” Schneider said. “While this is a positive start, the project’s progression will depend on various factors, including further community engagement and regulatory approvals.

“As for Cassel, we are currently in the process of engaging with the community and assessing interest levels. The exact number of participants is still being determined as we continue our outreach efforts.”

Cunningham and Homme said they are planning another community meeting shortly.

The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.